Texas RRC Orphan Well Query Retrieval Provenance Worksheet

Direct answer

Give one official Orphan Well Query attempt a neutral ID. Record its exact routes and labels, controlled criteria, access time and timezone, displayed state, retained reference, limitations, and only located, not located, or unverified. This documents the retrieval attempt without establishing a well classification, condition, duty, property fact, value, or transaction fact.

Key takeaways

• Keep the Orphan Well, Inactive Well, IWAR, and P-5 Renewal Status routes distinct.
• Record source-displayed criteria and selector labels as interface state, not findings.
• Keep actual operator, API, lease, well, field, result, and detail information in an authorized controlled location.
• Capture access time, timezone, navigation, displayed state, retained reference, and source limitations.
• Use only located, not located, or unverified, then stop before regulatory, environmental, legal, valuation, or transaction conclusions.

Public-record retrieval boundary. This article records one Texas RRC Orphan Well Query attempt. It does not interpret a criterion, selector, source definition, operator, lease, well, API, inactive period, result, compliance field, delinquency, plugging information, priority, condition, or environmental matter. It does not establish property connection, title, ownership, acreage, lease effect, production, reserves, cash flow, value, offer quality, legal effect, or a transaction result. It does not provide legal, title, land, tax, accounting, appraisal, engineering, geological, environmental, regulatory, or financial advice. MRX may have an economic interest in a later transaction; when that applies, the buyer relationship is disclosed in writing before an agreement is signed.

A Texas RRC Orphan Well Query retrieval worksheet answers one narrow question: exactly how was one official retrieval attempt performed? Record the official entry routes, exact source-displayed labels, access timestamp and timezone, controlled chosen criteria, navigation or displayed state, authorized retained reference, source limitations, and one bounded retrieval status.

Use only located, not located, or unverified. Those words describe the retrieval attempt. They do not decide whether the source would classify a well in a particular way, whether an operator has a duty, whether a well has a certain condition, whether plugging action is required, or whether a displayed record applies to a private mineral interest.

Start with the exact Orphan Well route

The Railroad Commission of Texas Research Queries directory lists the agency’s online research tools. It presents Orphan Well Query as its own oil-and-gas query and currently labels the update frequency as monthly. The directory also warns against automated volume retrieval and states broad limitations for online query data. Preserve those source statements with the attempt instead of assuming a result is current, complete, authoritative, or suitable for another purpose.

The official Oil & Gas Data Query menu launches multiple separately named applications. The Orphan Well Query uses orphanWellQueryAction.do and currently displays Orphan Well Query in its visible heading. The general Inactive Well route uses inactiveWellAllQueryAction.do, the Inactive Well Aging Report route uses inactiveWellQueryAction.do, and the P-5 Renewal Status route uses inactiveWellStatusQueryAction.do.

A shared operator, API, lease, district, field, county, or well label does not merge those systems. It also does not prove that returned information has the same scope, timing, meaning, or private-property relationship. For broader orientation, use Texas Railroad Commission: How to Use Public Records to Understand Your Mineral Rights. For the neighboring route, use the Texas RRC Inactive Well Query Retrieval Provenance Worksheet. Keep the attempt records separate.

Create an attempt header before entering criteria

Give the attempt a neutral ID such as TX-ORPH-RET-01. That identifier labels a retrieval session, not an operator, well, property, mineral interest, finding, condition, plugging obligation, or transaction. Record:

• the Research Queries directory route and exact directory label;
• the Oil & Gas Data Query menu route and exact menu label;
• the launched application route, HTML title, and visible heading;
• access date, time, and timezone;
• preparer role and worksheet version;
• stated purpose, limited to Orphan Well Query retrieval;
• source-stated access, display, search, update, download, and result limitations; and
• the controlled location where real criteria and retained evidence will be stored.

Create a new attempt ID for every rerun. Do not replace an earlier query record because a label, criterion, result, page state, help screen, or access condition changed. A sequence of preserved attempts shows what was actually retrievable at each recorded time.

Record only the criteria the source displays

The current query page asks the user to choose oil wells, gas wells, or both. It also displays fields for district, oil lease number or gas well ID number, county, field, operator, and API unique number. The official Orphan Well Query How To page describes the main criteria and separate lease, field, and operator search paths.

For each criterion, record four things: the exact source label, whether it appeared with a default, whether the preparer changed it, and the controlled evidence reference for the actual value. A public template should show blanks such as [controlled county value], not a real operator, lease, API, or well identifier.

Selector pages deserve their own navigation entry. If an operator, lease, or field search page was opened, preserve:

• the parent query route and selector route;
• the displayed selector label;
• the search mode chosen, such as exact, beginning characters, or containing characters;
• whether a selection set appeared;
• whether the user added, removed, submitted, reset, or returned; and
• the timestamp when the populated query page reappeared.

The How To page describes ways to search operators, leases, and fields. Treat those instructions as source-displayed navigation, not as validation of the selected entity or its connection to a mineral interest.

Preserve help navigation and source wording

The official Orphan Well Query Help separates query, result, download, and contact topics. Record any help URL actually opened, its displayed title, the section viewed, and the access time. Do not cite a help page that was not part of the attempt as though the user relied on it.

The official About page supplies the source’s description of the query and its data. Preserve that description as source wording with a route and access timestamp. Do not silently rewrite the source definition into an MRX finding about a specific well, operator, inactive period, obligation, condition, or property.

This distinction matters because a provenance record shows what the source displayed and how it was reached. It is not a substitute for a separately scoped regulatory, environmental, engineering, title, or legal review.

Record displayed states without interpreting them

An attempt may stop at the query page, a validation notice, a selector, an empty table, a populated result table, a detail page, an error, or a session boundary. Record the displayed state in neutral language:

• query page displayed with no result action taken;
• selector displayed and returned to the parent query;
• validation or constraint displayed;
• result page displayed;
• result table displayed with or without the sought controlled reference;
• detail link or tab navigation displayed;
• download control displayed or not displayed;
• pagination or sorting action recorded;
• error, timeout, session, or access state displayed; or
• source state could not be verified.

The official results help describes result columns, pagination, sorting, detail navigation, tabs, and download behavior. A worksheet may record that a named column, control, link, or tab appeared. It must not convert that label into an MRX conclusion about well status, an inactive period, an operator, compliance, plugging information, condition, priority, environmental impact, or property connection.

If the source shows a substantive category or description, preserve the exact source wording in the controlled evidence. In the reusable worksheet, record only that the source-displayed field was captured. Avoid paraphrases that strengthen, simplify, or broaden what the source actually displayed.

Retain evidence in a controlled location

The reusable worksheet should contain a controlled reference, not the sensitive evidence itself. A retained-evidence record can identify:

• attempt ID and worksheet version;
• authorized repository, case system, or evidence-vault location;
• capture or export filename;
• capture timestamp and timezone;
• file SHA-256 or other integrity reference;
• source route and displayed page label;
• access role and retention rule; and
• whether a later reviewer independently repeated the retrieval.

Do not publish credentials, session tokens, cookies, private correspondence, personal contact details, actual operator or property identifiers, result rows, screenshots, downloads, well details, plugging information, or internal case notes. If evidence must be shared with an authorized professional, provide the controlled reference and the minimum necessary underlying record through an approved channel.

Assign only a bounded retrieval status

Choose one status after the attempt:

1. Located: the recorded route exposed the specific controlled reference sought.
2. Not located: the recorded attempt did not expose that reference using the stated criteria.
3. Unverified: the route, criteria, displayed state, retained reference, or source limitation was not captured well enough to reproduce the attempt.

Located does not authenticate a record, establish that it applies to a mineral interest, or interpret any field. Not located does not prove absence. Unverified is the correct status when the evidence trail is incomplete.

End with one neutral next question. For example: should another separately named official route be searched, or should an authorized reviewer compare the retained reference with another official record? Do not end with a conclusion about an orphan-well classification, operator responsibility, compliance, plugging action, environmental condition, ownership, value, an offer, or a transaction.

Keep adjacent RRC jobs separate

• The Inactive Well Query uses inactiveWellAllQueryAction.do and owns the general inactive-well retrieval job.
• The Inactive Well Aging Report Query uses inactiveWellQueryAction.do and has its own source labels and attempt-level worksheet.
• The P-5 Renewal Status Query uses inactiveWellStatusQueryAction.do and owns only its separate renewal-status retrieval job.
• The Organization (P-5) Query uses organizationQueryAction.do and owns organization-directory retrieval.
• The Wellbore Query and other EWA routes have their own routes, criteria, result structures, limitations, and provenance records.

The RRC’s About Oil & Gas Data Queries page explains that each query is one slice of a larger system. That is a reason to preserve route identity, not a reason to merge results. If a research question crosses systems, create separate attempts and link their controlled references.

Protect the mineral owner’s information

Store real operator, API, lease, well, district, county, field, criterion, result, inactive-period, plugging, screenshot, export, property, title, payment, and correspondence details in an access-controlled location. Share only records you are authorized to provide and disclose why each record is requested.

MRX may act as an educator, evaluator, marketplace operator, or possible buyer. If MRX or an affiliate could acquire an interest, that economic relationship should be stated clearly before a transaction agreement is signed. A provenance worksheet improves reproducibility; it does not make MRX a public agency, title examiner, attorney, engineer, geologist, environmental consultant, accountant, appraiser, regulator, or neutral fiduciary.

Final retrieval check

Before closing the attempt, confirm that the worksheet preserves the complete official route, every exact source label, access time and timezone, controlled criteria, selector navigation, displayed result or error state, retained reference, source limitation, bounded status, and a neutral next question. If one item is missing, use unverified until the retrieval record is complete.

Stop there. The next step may be another official-source retrieval or an appropriately scoped professional review. It is not a conclusion about a source classification, operator, lease, well, inactive period, compliance, delinquency, plugging responsibility, environmental condition, property connection, title, ownership, acreage, legal effect, value, offer quality, or a transaction.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Orphan Well Query the same as the Inactive Well Query?

No claim of equivalence should be made. The official systems launch orphanWellQueryAction.do for Orphan Well Query and inactiveWellAllQueryAction.do for Inactive Well Query. This worksheet records only the first route.

Is the Orphan Well Query the same as the Inactive Well Aging Report Query?

No. The IWAR route uses inactiveWellQueryAction.do and has its own source labels, help material, and attempt record. This worksheet owns only orphanWellQueryAction.do.

Does a located result prove that a well has a particular condition or plugging priority?

No. Located means only that the recorded official attempt exposed the identified controlled reference. The worksheet does not interpret the source definition, an inactive period, well condition, compliance, plugging information, environmental condition, or legal effect.

Does not located mean that no orphan-well record exists?

No. Not located describes one attempt using stated criteria at a stated time. Criteria, interface state, coverage, updates, access limits, or another official route may require a separate retrieval step.

Can a reusable worksheet publish real operator, API, lease, well, result, or plugging details?

No. Keep actual identifiers, criteria, results, exports, screenshots, and source-displayed details in an authorized controlled location. Reusable public examples should remain blank.

Sources

• Railroad Commission of Texas, Research Queries (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, About Oil & Gas Data Queries (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Oil & Gas Data Query menu (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Orphan Well Query (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Orphan Well Query Help (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Orphan Well Query How To (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Orphan Well Query About (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Orphan Well Query Results Help (accessed 2026-08-24)